Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1887-01-19

and there was scuflling; but perhaps
her going ovcy was an accident I
couldn't swear that, when he thrust
out his two hands, he had given her a
push that had sent her over.
well, sir, the burden OF this secret
lay heavy on my mind. and us walked
up and down here on my lonely beat II
began TO eat into me. Says to my
self; Matthew Duncan, you know of q
murder and you've never told Of II,
and il ended in getting fever. and !
was as near dead as any man could be.
When / came II bit to myself had the
parson sent for, and told him had a
great load on my mind and wanted to
ease it by telling it to him, and l told
him the whole story from beginning 10
end, and our captain had him in
and told it to him, too.
"But the gentlemen only smiled at
what said Poor fellow says one,
the fevcr's on him still 'Ay,' says
the other, you see It's the same thing
he's been raving on all along.
"Well, was very weak and couldn't
talk much, and | was weary with my
earnestness in trying to make them be-
lieve what said so just laid back
with my eyes closed and they thought
l was asleep. But heard them talk
ing, and the captain said: 'Tis pity.
/ 81, Infe 90 lei,
est-eyed men in the service. and I'm
afraid he'll never be fit for any
thing again. oh, twill work of, "
said the minister; you may be sure
when he strengthens up he'll forget
all these fever fancies. You
mustn't think of his leaving the SER
vice. He must get sick-leave for a
while. I've seen many cases as strange
as this and they came round all right
at last.
"Well, made two or three more at
tempts and l tried the doctor; but he
says: I'll send you some strengthen
ing medicine, Duncan, and you'll soon
be all right and he tapped his fore
head and says: 'Fcvcrs make sad
work with our brains.
~ saw it was no use to try and per-
suade any of the gentlemen; l did my
best, and there now | must leave it.
But l wam't quite easy in my mind.
Looking at it now Mt this distance of
time | think it was my duty to have re-
ported it and taken the consequences,
whatever they might have been, but
this did: says to myself: There Is
no knowing what may turn up, by and
by, if this is murder; murder will out,
as the saying is, and ] may not re-
member all that ought to be remem-
bcrcd by the only man whose eye
saw the deed donc;' so | took and
wrote down on a paper what l had
seen and hid it carefully away lest it
should come to any ones hand. And
If died-wGu l took care that the ac-
count, whatever it might be worth,
should not be lost, for marked it out
side: When l am dead this paper is to
be given to the minister of the parish,
and no one but himself is to break one
of the-seals upon it, And TO make the
matter as sure as l could l put six
seals upon it-cvery one of them diff
ferept; I borrowed them from far and
near, wherever l could. / put down
the day and the hour, and the color of
the young woman's dress and the shape
of her hat, and the cut of the man S
beard and whiskers, and the red kerr
| chief he had round his neck; of that ]
made special note, for seafarng men
don't wear that color often. Now,
said /, I've done all can. Time will
tell. But it is an awful thing for that
man that there has been az eye upon
him that he knew and knows nothing
about, ready to give evidence against
him if the question of murder turns
up. Folk often think they're not seen
and that there'll be no witnesses
against them; but often think 'Ah!
there's one Eye at any rate that has
been on you, and there's one Eyc-wit-
ness against you; go where you will
and do what you will, the testimony of
an Eyewitness is there OF course,
sir, said the coast-guard, rcverently,
II mean the Great Eye above. used
to think myself particular before. but
since this happened / have been ever
SO much more particular, for l says
to myself: There's some One look
ing, ay. and there's some One
listening; you don't see Him, but He's
there and in way it's made diff
ferent man of me ever since.
Give years passed." said the old
man, land the doctor and the parson
and the captain forgot all about this
matter; they didn't trouble themselves
much about the rawlings of man i'm q
fever, as they thought, and twas mid
summer morning again and it was my
turn to be on guard. l don't know
what it was that made Inc keep look
ing continually at the cliff and at that
part of the ruin where you see the
white cross painted on the stone. But
every moment felt the glass almost
turning of itself to where had seen
that poor young thing go over the cliff.
Twas Almost as though expected to
see something, and they say that il one
expects to see something they'll do it,
I suppose they think the fancy brings
the thing. Well, sir, | did see some
thing. Twas the very hour and the
very day when that young woman was
thrown over the cliff-for now we
know all about it---and there, coming
out Of the ruin, saw the man Id seen
five years before. knew him ina
moment; he had the same beard and
the same dress and the same 'kcrchicf
| but this time he was by himself.